


lo and behold (he's walkin' over to me)

by antpelts



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Bars and Pubs, Dancing and Singing, Drinking, Established Relationship, Idiots in Love, Karaoke, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25646131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antpelts/pseuds/antpelts
Summary: “To drown your sorrows.” Setting down his drink he ordered a shot, sliding it over in front of Evan. He laid a hand over his chest, furrowing his brows in mock sadness.“Your heart’s on the other side,” Evan snarked, though a giggle slipped in as he threw back the shot. Setting the glass on the table he reached out to grab Jared’s right hand, pressing it to his chest above his heart while he let his left arm drop to his side. “I would know.”
Relationships: Evan Hansen/Jared Kleinman
Comments: 16
Kudos: 30





	lo and behold (he's walkin' over to me)

**Author's Note:**

> just,, they,, the boys.. in love

The number of times Jared has sung some early 2000s song in a little nasally voice to Evan while cooking dinner in their kitchen or on a car ride was easily in double digits. There was even a few times he could count on his hands where they’d set up a makeshift karaoke floor in their living room so that when Jared was a few jello shots in he could lay across the coffee table and gesture with an empty water bottle as he put on a twangy voice to serenade Evan with some ‘80s pop hit. And,  _ no,  _ it didn’t fit the genre but it was all  _ Jared _ and it always made Evan roll his eyes with that little flush over his cheeks. With enough convincing Alana would pick up a plucky little duet with him. Zoe would double up on some soulful ballad that wasn’t meant to be doubled with him if she’d matched him for shots. There was one night that would go down in infamy that he’d gotten Connor to sing an ABBA song with him while he’d sat in Evan’s lap the whole time, missing full verses to kiss haphazardly over his face - one of those ‘what happens here stays here’ nights.

No matter how many shots in Evan was he always declined, satiating Jared with a chaste kiss to some arbitrary spot on his face. 

This time they were out at a bar, though. Instead of shots Jared was balancing rum and cokes as he provided unhelpful commentary to Evan’s dart throwing form. Two losses to a buzzed Alana was enough for him and he let Jared pull him over to the bar.

“To drown your sorrows.” Setting down his drink he ordered a shot, sliding it over in front of Evan. He laid a hand over his chest, furrowing his brows in mock sadness.

“Your heart’s on the other side,” Evan snarked, though a giggle slipped in as he threw back the shot. Setting the glass on the table he reached out to grab Jared’s right hand, pressing it to his chest above his heart while he let his left arm drop to his side. “I would know.”

“That seems pretty gay I think,” there was a slight slur to the words, giving him the hint of a lisp. As soon as Evan let go of his hand it fell to hang limply at his side - he’d been the only thing holding it up, able to move Jared like putty between his fingers. Compliant and looking at him with the softest expression he probably ever had, slightly slack jawed as he seemed to consider adding something else. Before he could Evan just laughed and reached out to straighten his glasses on his nose.

“I’m not drunk enough for this.”

“You’re stuck with me!” Seemingly snapping back to reality Jared blinked a few times before leaning with his back on the bar, propped up on his elbows. When he looked up Evan was knocking back another shot before he was resting his chin on his hand, setting his own elbows on the bar.

“Mhm.” Jared was fairly sure he wasn’t really listening because he was looking at him with half-lidded eyes and a hint of a smile he barely picked up in the low light. Maybe  _ he  _ wasn’t drunk enough for this either because that look made him weak in the knees and a little lightheaded. Well, okay, to be fair the lightheadedness could be from the fact he’d already finished two drinks in an hour and was on his third.

“Shut up.” Pushing himself up he turned to grab his half finished drink off the bar, taking a quick mouthful.

“I didn’t- I didn’t even say anything!”

“I can see it in your eyes,” Jared responded immediately, reaching out to lightly flick Evan’s forehead.

“Okay, I’m going back to my game. Don’t- Don’t die while I’m gone.”

“No promises.” Jared raised his glass to him, shoulders shaking slightly with laughter.

“Just sit down, have some water. I’ll just- I’ll be right over there.”

“Dude, I’m not the one who just did two shots in like.. a minute.” Jared didn’t argue though, never immune to the pull of Evan’s voice - for sappy and more.. sinful reasons all the same. His brain was buzzing but he definitely wasn’t drunk enough to be thinking about Evan like that out in public. By the time he was sitting and looking up from his glass Evan was already gone back across the floor, laughing at something Alana said. So maybe he  _ was _ a little more drunk than Evan.

Sipping at his drink he turned his attention across the bar to the karaoke stage instead. It wasn’t too crowded for once, two girls were practically hanging off of each other as they belted out Piano Man - a half beat off. Through the haze in his head he was able to remember that on the song sign up sheet Piano Man was two slots above his name. Considering it was already winding down his turn was coming up which meant he should probably will his legs to get him over there.

When he was halfway across the floor, slipping around clusters of chatting people, the bouncy brass of Sweet Caroline was starting up and he almost wished he had gotten to the song first. (No one was gonna do back to back karaoke! He  _ had  _ to pick something different.) The look Evan gave him every time he belted out the ‘bum bum bum’s was to die for. Or to kill for. Regardless, he was sort of whipped. Staking out at a little table off to the side he glanced back towards the corner where the dartboards were. The song had seemed to get Evan’s attention because he was peeking over the slightly sparse crowd, probably thinking something similar to Jared and checking to see if he was the one going up. When he saw that it definitely  _ wasn’t _ his boyfriend Jared swore his shoulders slumped a little - like he was hoping he’d be up there. Well, he couldn’t be sure because his head was sort of spinning and his vision was just a little fuzzy but the  _ thought _ of it made his heart flutter.

In only a few minutes he was carefully climbing up onto the slight stage, throwing his arms up triumphantly before grabbing the microphone left up there. Jared could get behind theatrics - though, normally in a contained space. Looking out across the people and squinting against the lights he didn’t have any time to think about what he was doing. Besides, he was far too full of alcohol and, honestly, love to back out.

Love because this was the  _ exact _ song that he always started up and belted out to Evan when he was looking low energy or like he was seemingly hoping to break the (usually comfortable) quiet between them. It always perked him up, or made him laugh. The amount of times Jared had performed it in their kitchen in boxers and socks with a whisk as a microphone while Evan boiled water or chopped onions was probably downright criminal.

In Jared’s opinion it was likely the most recognizable song intro in the world. Or at least for the two of them. As if on cue he saw Evan - at least he thought it was him, the lights were kind of bright and he felt a little fuzzy - lifting his head from over by the dartboards, immediately wading through little groups of people as he moved towards the end of the bar Jared was set up at. When he came into focus Jared could take in his expression, brows quirked, nose scrunched up as he laughed to himself.

“This one’s dedicated!” Jared gave a half spin, stumbling a bit before pointing at Evan who was standing with his arms crossed right up front, grinning lopsidedly, “to you!”

“Her name is Noelle,” that exaggerated nasally tone crept into his voice before he crouched down a bit, whispering into the mic, “not really-”

Straightening up again he slurred his words a bit as he tried to get back on beat, his little comment having thrown himself off. By the chorus he was back on beat, eyes squeezed shut, free hand pressed over his heart. His face scrunched up slightly as he really drove home the tone; at this point it was probably grating but when he cracked an eye open he saw Evan looking at him like he’d personally crafted the sun just to shine down on him. It was enough to encourage his theatrics, despite an array of other patrons pausing their conversations to watch his display. The attention would have normally made him squirm but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Her boyfriend’s a dick!” Jared threw his head back, switching the hand he held the microphone in and jerking a thumb towards his chest to point at himself. He wasn’t sure over the guitar noises but he thought he could hear Evan laugh at that. To be fair, it was like his brain was sort of tuned into that special  _ Evan Hansen  _ frequency, always ready to take in every little thought he had, to find out where he was at.

By the time he made it back to the chorus he felt the slight strain on his voice, he would definitely be feeling this the next day. For now though, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was his wild gesturing and clutching onto the microphone and putting all of his soul into whatever this was in whatever way he could. Maybe he wasn’t the best at being comprehensible when it came to what he was feeling or where  _ he  _ was at but this was something he could do. Rum running through his body and making him warm - or maybe that was the lights, or how Evan was gazing up at him - encouraging him to just keep going.

As he hit the bridge he was practically sweating, bracing a palm on his knee as he bent over a little before jumping up again and throwing his arm up as he hit the second ‘she doesn’t know what she’s missin’’ fingers splayed out. When the note ended he clenched his fist, drawing his arm in close to himself quickly - almost as if in victory. 

“Man,” he let his hand relax, arm falling to his side, “I feel like mold.”

Playing up the dejectedness he let his voice soften and he did a half turn on his heel, clutching the microphone in both hands as he shrunk back on himself. 

“It’s prom night and I am lonely,” he swayed a bit - it was pretty easy considering his blood alcohol content - before kicking at the ground a little. Taking one hand off the microphone he held it out, pointing at Evan again.

“Lo and behold,” he turned his hand so his palm was facing up, curling his finger in a ‘come here’ motion at Evan, “she’s walkin’ over to me.”

The last thing Jared expected was for Evan to shuffle forwards, right next to the stage, holding his hand out. As if he was worried it was some sort of prank, he carefully took Evan’s hand in his own, crouching on the edge of the stage so that they were at eye level. The next line barely made it past his lips, faltering a bit, “this must be fake.”

“My lip starts to shake.” There was some truth in that as Evan’s thumb brushed over the back of his hand. He heard a whistle from somewhere off in the crowd, he’d bet it was Zoe but his mind was buzzing too much to care either way. “How does she know who I am?”

“And why does she give a damn?” Halfway through his voice faltered, falling into a whisper for the latter part. He managed to mumble out a little, “and she says..” 

Evan just reached with his free hand to wrap around Jared’s that held onto the mic, pulling it towards himself, “I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby,” the softness sent a shiver down Jared’s spine, the slight lilt as Evan lifted the pitch a little higher, “come with me Friday, don’t say maybe.”

Evan’s other hand turned so he was pressing their palms together, lacing their fingers. When Jared met his eyes he was smiling so  _ softly,  _ his eyes were half-lidded and there was a faint blush settled over his face. Now he was lightheaded for multiple reasons.

“I’m just a teenage dirtbag, baby, like you.”

It was like Jared blinked and suddenly he felt Evan’s lips against his cheekbone, pressing a kiss right below his glasses frames with a breathy little laugh before carefully slipping away to stand back. With a little ‘whoop!’ Jared threw his arms in the air, hopping to his feet and doing a little spin - only wobbling a  _ little.  _ Steadying himself he clutched onto the microphone, squeezing his eyes shut as he belted the outro, careening a bit as he gestured wildly and sung with his whole body.

Unlike the other performances there was actually some scattered applause - for the most part people had been content to just let the karaoke be background to their socializing but Jared had drawn attention. Of course he had. Relishing the public approval he set the mic back in its stand before wobbling over to the edge of the stage. Evan was there, waiting, arms crossed behind his back and rocking on his heels. It made Jared utterly melt as he clumsily dropped to sit on the edge of the stage, dangling his feet over the edge. When Evan finally offered up his hands Jared took them, using him for support as he hopped down, wheezing out a little laugh while Evan steadied him.

“Dumbass,” Evan muttered, though Jared’s laugh must’ve been contagious because he had responded in kind after talking.

“Your dumbass,” Jared couldn’t help the snort that came out with his laugh as he all but fell into Evan’s arms, forehead pressed to the side of his neck.

“My dumbass.”

**Author's Note:**

> kudos n comments mean the world


End file.
